Government Did Not Pay for Nazif Najib’s World Cup Trip

Datuk Mohd Nazifuddin Najib did not travel on taxpayers’ expense when he went to Moscow, Russia, to watch the World Cup final, says Youth and Sports Minister.

Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman said that he had checked with the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM), where Nazifuddin is the secretary-general for the 2018-2022 term.

“He was not there representing the OCM and he paid for his own travel,” he said on Twitter on Tuesday.

Syed Saddiq was responding to Twitter user @klubbkiddkl, who had asked about the recent trip to Moscow by the former premier’s son.

Nazifuddin posted several photos of his trip to Moscow on Sunday (July 15) when France beat Croatia 4-2 in the final.

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In one photo, he is seen posing with Zabivaka, the football-playing wolf which is the Russian World Cup mascot.

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Other photos included one of himself giving a thumbs-up at the Luzhniki Stadium and another with retired French international footballer Christian Karembeu.

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Netizens, including celebrity cook Chef Wan, criticised the post.

This was in relation to Nazifuddin’s previous complaints against Putrajaya for freezing the bank accounts of Najib’s family members, which he said caused emotional distress and hampered medical treatment for his cancer-stricken sister Puteri Norlisa.

On Monday, Nazifuddin seemed to imply on an Instagram post that he was travelling to major sporting events in an official capacity.

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The post showed him in the United Kingdom with the caption “A photo of me in the UK. Maybe this can be the news material for tomorrow. Next I have to be in Jakarta for Asia Games #iworkinsports”.